Jane's Writing Shed.

Out of the mountains three skuas came plumage the colour of menace bodies heavy with purpose head turning from side to side one bird knew its way across the kelp-lined shore and lazy beds where small birds nested another took its chances by following a fishing boat pursuing the gannets and gulls until they disgorged the offal biding its time the third hitched a ride on a corkscrew thermal found itself soaring higher than the eagles as if casting off the earth

in association with Northwords Now, Moniack Mhor and Cuillin FM has recently announced the results of the 2013 competition on the theme of 'Homecoming' and I was delighted to hear that my poem Goodbye Voyager 1 was Highly Commended. Here's the poem. Goodbye Voyager 1. I heard you made it to interstellar space past the kiss-me-quick hats lost balloons stratus and noctilucent clouds satellites and meteorites the ever-orbiting bits of junk like me Telstar 1963 all the way through the heliosphere beyond the outer planets if only I could have been programmed to be as brave as you do you remember you played Stavinsky and Chuck Berry when we almost collided all those years ago now look where your heart's desire has got you to travelling on a one way ticket through thickets of universes black holes and dying stars to immortality where you belong over and out so long